My goodness! I used to live in one of those in the jungle in Panama. Finally gave up on TTY as it never worked and switched to voice. Who remembers falling asleep and letting the generators run out of fuel? How about keyboard forehead? I remember having a crowd around me inside, listening to the start of Desert Storm on VOA. Also, the print head on your 74 freaked me out being so quiet. Taught myself CW using the leg clamp thingy and listening to hams in the US. Good times!
You mean, falling asleep in the winter, the heater and all of the lights going out after the generator ran out of fuel? Waking up to a cold, dark shelter with condensation running down the walls and the door? And you couldn't get me on the radio from 0200 until around 0700? No, I don't recall that... Must have been sun spots or something... ZKJ2
Trained on these as a 31V at Ft Sill back in 1985. We had still TT-76/98 set ups as late as 1988. Dont recall seeing the UGC-74 until later. Thanks for the memories.
I ran ratt equipment very similar to that in Frankfurt in the 70’s. My hearing is shot too. 123rd sig bn, 3ad support. We were the net control. Pulled a pair of 5kw generators behind a 5/4 Jeep fitted with a 200A alternator for mobile operations. Good times.
Oh my god, its been over 30 years since I've heard that sound. I was just coming into the Army when they began deploying UGC-74's at the time It was still tt-98's. Use to be able to read the ticker tape without the print.
Wow! The sound slammed me home :) - 05C/31C/31R/31W (80 - 98) - spent over half my career, 11 years, in Germany. This was awesome and many thanks for sharing!
jnaroby Me too. 05C/31C/31V and 31W from 1976 to mid 85, before the Recruiting Command beckoned. 2 tours in Germany and 2 tours at Fort Polk. I just missed out on the UGC-74's.
PaBasser when were you at Polk? I was there from 93 until I helped move the 208th Signal Company to Ft. Bliss, TX as the Forward 1SG. Retired at Bliss.
jnaroby First tour was April 1979 to Jan 1981. HHC 7th Engineer Bn. 2nd go round was January 84 to May 85, B Co. 5th Signal Bn. Section Chief and then a Plat Daddy as an E-6. CO relieved my predecessor in the middle of a FTX. He told me to get in his CUCV as I was now the new Platoon Sergeant. Grabbed my gear and off I went. I was training some Louisiana NG troops at a different locale, at the time.
+DarkFoxMedia As soon as the ticker tape started, I could smell the oil... Wow! I was a 31C at Flak Kaserne, Ludwigburg back 85 - 87 and then Fort Stewart.
Thanks for posting! Brings me back to my 31Charlie days back in Germany in the late 80's. I use to frequency surf and talk to Nova Scotia and one night picked up a guy from my home town in California. Would love to sit in one and see what I remember.
After 12 years of working in those riggs, I'm still hearing ringing in my ears. VA said it was normal - go figure...INT ZBK... This bring back a lot of good memories though, thanks for sharing.
@@kingofbattle6781 10% for ringing and 10% for vertigo max they said. BTW sorry to hear you got no disability or limited disability like we always do. I am legally deaf. No Soldier should ever be given a hard time for anything while serving our country. If I ever decide to done (end) my life It will be at the VA's office. So Mote It Be.
Wow. That brings back memories from when I was a signal platoon leader in the US Army in the 1980's. We used AN/GRC-122 and AN/GRC-142 affectionately known as "Ratt Rigs". Looks like this is a complete system minus the TSEC/KW-7 crypto. We also had UGC-74's in a Comm Center Shelter that could generate a message and put it on paper tape and send it to the Ratt Rig to be transmitted, or the Ratt Rig could receive the traffic and generate a paper tape that went to the Comm Center to be delivered. The Comm Center could deliver the traffic via courier or send the traffic over the AN/TRC-145 tactical multi-channel (UHF Band I and Band III) network to other Comm Centers within the Division/Corps network. The troops who did this work knew the secret to getting some sleep was to slightly unscrew the P&I warning lamp on the front of the KW-7 which made it fail; they could get a few hours of sleep waiting for COMSEC maintenance troops to show up to fix it.
I was with 9th Signal in Ft. Lewis from 1986-1989. I worked an experimental Harris Radio satellite system called TC3V and fell under the TAC-CP. We had UGC-74's, URC 101's, Harris low to high repeaters and even a fax machine! We did not have the luxury of sleeping on duty or the equipment going down. I was also a Corporal that didn't stand for any of that gold-bricking nonsense. This big husky guy with a funny sounding German name would have gone ballistic if "his" comms were down. I guess some people just had it like that...
The AN/GRC-142 in the 1980s:) I was in a reserve unit in the states that were using them in the late 1970s... but not with KW-7 crypto. Seems awful old for your time period. We mainly used the older AN/GRC-46 in Vietnam, but with newer crypto. The -26, if I remember correctly. I only saw a KW-7 once, and that was used with a jeep radio. Some guys brought in a radio for maintenance and had managed to hook up the KW-7 wrong. I don't know how they did it, but where there's a will, there's a way. Just the opposite of your guys rigging the warning lamp:) We did use a 106A for our MARS station which was fun, because we had to monitor the voice communications and key the shop radio to stop the communication if they talked about our work. My group built a brand new AN/GRC-46 in Vietnam for the Canadian UN Peacekeepers, complete with an brand new 1/2 ton 1950s vintage truck from the depot in Okinawa. They were to use it as a relay point between Hanoi and MACV headquarters in Saigon.
@@3366larryandrews AN/GRC-122 and AN/GRC-142 were the standard HF RTTY systems in the Army in the mid/late 1980's. Before that, early 80's we had the GRC-26D which was Korea/Vietnam era equipment; I think we were also using it with the KW-7 crypto to be compatible with all Army HF nets. I had never used or even seen a GRC-46 ratt rig. The KW-7 was too big (maybe 14"x14"x14") to fit in a jeep and I don't think it worked with the VRC-12 family FM radios; I think it was only for HF. I recall the KY-38 Nestor crypto used with the VRC-12 family, PRC-25 and PRC-77. We later moved to KY-57 Vinson crypto for both VRC-12 and PRC-77.
@@brianattaway2474 Thanks for the response. Interesting about the AN/GRC-142 being used into the late 1980s. It seems that there were comm centers that had more advanced printer capabilities than the old 60-word per minute GRC-26D, the GRC-46, and the GRC-142. The main difference, from my perspective, seems to be their power output, even though their use in the field were different. When I left the Army, I notice other products, like the ASR-33, that had a much better performance, but I wasn't surprised to see the GRC-142 in the reserves. The GRC-46 used all the same TTYs as the -142, just with the older R/T that were all tube based. I liked the GRC-46 because it was not only a great radio, but it was easier to troubleshoot in the field. The GRC-142 required a "simulator" piece of equipment that I would troubleshoot the transistor modules with. I trained on the -106A in school, but was still pretty new in the field. I also trained on the GRC-26D, for about 3 hours:) They told me I would never see them in the field due to their age and use. I spent quality time with them, with many times removing the power supply drawer with 2 men an a boy. That drawer was heavy:) I saw the GRC26D in a signal battalion at Ft. Hood, mixed in with the GRC-46. I had 2 GRC-26D shelters I had to cannibalize because the parts were hard to get. I could only order parts from the Air Force and they took forever to get to me. But I loved the performance of the GRC-26D and the fact that it was mounted on a 2 1/2 ton truck that had lots of room in it when we were in the field:) I was a radio repairman, so I could be getting my KW and KY designator mixed up. It could have been a KY-7 that I saw and not a KW-7. I was able to find a photo of the KW-7 on the internet and realized that that was the unit we used in the teletype rigs. The KW-26 may have been the units that were a part of the MACV installation in Vietnam and I got them mixed. My only experience with the KW-7 was learning to code it in school. That's it. If there was an issue in the field, it was pretty easy to isolate the fault of either the radio or the crypto. They always kept the crypto veiled. Crypto and Radio personnel didn't share the same shop, but we did share the same housing. A few times in the field, crypto would say it was the radio at fault, so I had to drag myself out of bed, find them, and then keep them company:) It was a good thing we were friends:) I never really saw crypto for the VRC-12, PRC25/77. I know that it existed, but I never trained for it or saw it. This one instance of the KY-7 (or whatever it was) and the RT524 was unique. It could have been a KY-38, but I seem to remember it was grey. I remember it because the user had managed to connect 2-male plugs together and the configuration confused me for a minute:) This KY-7 was not small, like a PRC-77, but about 1/2 the size of the RT524 and taller. It probably was a KY-38. I seem to remember thinking about the age of the unit, working it in school, and never seeing it in the field before. I'm blaming old age:) That's my story and I'm sticking to it:)
Brothers and sisters, you ain’t lived unless you operated a AN/VSC-2 RATT rig in a hardtop jeep towing your Jeep trailer with two 3k generators running NCS !
Talk to me when you get air lifted by a Chinook onto the top of some freaking Korean mountain in the middle of winter with a case of MRE's and 20 gallons of water. Oh, and the fat platoon daddy's last words, "We'll see you in a couple of weeks!"
wow I used the 142 in the 70's with tt98's. we were getting 147's at the time and they were more roomy and better air conditioners. also the antenna matching was much improved. I was in Frankfurt and was the net control for 3rd armored division.
05C here, 32nd signal battalion, attached to the 11th ACR in Fulda, 1981-83. Similar Ratt rig, but not quite the same as what we used back then. And no KW7's? Had they been phased out by this time?
Kw7s are still restricted by NSA. So the parts that get out are outrageously expensive or copys. I don't like fake or non-working things. So not anytime soon.
The 2 RATT shacks I was responsible for had the TT-98s in them. I never got to play with the TT-76. they were both retired as is. still love to have one
I served as 05C/31C from 1983-1993, B co 303rd MI Bn, 269th Sig Co, B co 502nd MI Bn, E co 51st INF LRS, then changed to 11B (did not want to PCS to White House Communication), retired in 2013 as a SGM.
I do still have it. I'm having amp problems and have not fixed it yet. I can still receive. I know several guys are trying to get a net going, so I'll have to get busy on it.
Rich Laird Enjoyed video. From 1978-'81, this O5C (non-Morse) operated an M561(Gama Goat)-mounted AN/GRC-142B RATT w/PU-620 while stationed at Wiesbaden Air Base, W. Germany, with the 4th ID's 2/20th FA & 64th Spt. Bn. I still shudder when I think about those FTXs, in the dead of winter, at Hohenfels, Grafenwoehr, etc.--Burrr! Spent last active duty months at now-defunct Ft. Devens, MA, on Dodge M880-mounted AN/GRC-122 RATT in 39th Engr. Bn. While stationed at King Khalid Military City with Boston-based 803rd Med. Gp., USAR during Desert Storm, would do signal strength requests from all over the globe on our commo section's AN/GRC-106 w/15-ft. whip antenna. Retired after 20-years of faithful active/guard/reserve service in 2004.
Richard Laird . I worked the world for over a year using the whip. Put up a dipole recently and it does help. But it's still amazing to talk to the other side of the world on a whip.
Hi Victor Johnson: Before my intra-post transfer to the 64th Spt. Bn. in late spring 1980, I was the Bn. Comsec clerk for the Bn.'s Signal Officer, LT Waugh; don't recall the name of HHC's 1st SG at that time; SSG Volz was my section SG, though. Spent last active duty months manning my Bn.'s signal section's sole RATT RIG for Fort Devens' 39th Cbt Engr Bn. Remaining active guard/reserve time: G-3, 26th (Yankee) ID, ARNG, Boston; 283rd TC, USAR, Boston; 803rd Medical Group, USAR, Boston; 743rd TC, USAR, Boston; 928th TC Det., USAR, NYC; 719th TC Bn., Boston.....Best to you, Victor.
The keyboard looks way different. The modems we had included 425hz shift. We used the KW-7 box for encryption. I didn't see the tuner in the video. Fort Hood 522nd ASA Bn, then changed to 522nd CEWI Bn from 8/75 to 3/78. One guy forgot to ground the rig and had a surprise when he relieved himself standing on the rig. The TTY machines were limited to 60wpm.
Thanks for your service. I'm not sure if using encryption puts a limit on the speed but the ugc-74 can run at 45.5, 50, 75, 150, 300, 600, and 1200 bauds, baudot or ascII. So it can run much faster than this but this is standard HAM radio so it was at 60wpm. The tape reader has 2 sets of gears so it really only does 2 speeds. Though it can be adjusted a little for motor speed so 2.5 in reality.
Can two UGC-74's be connected together on a land line and communicate back and forth? or do they need additional equipment? I do not wish to sue them on the radio, just as a communication device between two points with telegraph wire.
Yes, you will need a supply to provide 60 ma to the local loop. Just hook up the keyboards and printer circuits in series. Look for an old copy of the ARRL handbook for details.
My unit had the first FADAC at Ft. Sill (approx. 1978 or 1979). I was looking on Google for one to show the guys I work with now (youngsters). The only place I could find one was in a museum (honest).
I used the same setup when I was in the Army as a 31C. One question, though... I thought the AN/UGC-74 used a rolling platen and a series of "hammers" to produce a printed page. Is the dot-matrix printhead a later modification, or "aftermarket replacement?"
After further research, I believe there were TWO UGC-74 models. I still recall a large cylindrical platen with letters rolling vertically as it spun under the paper. I believe that was the Model A version. The Model B/C used the dot matrix printhead. There were no moving printheads on the one I used in 1985-86. The Model A platen would continuously spin and 80 tiny hammers would fire as the appropriate letter was sensed under the paper. The hammer would strike the ribbon, pressing it against the paper, pressing it against the raised letter stamp as it passed. A line of text would "mysteriously appear" as each line was received. I would like to pick up a UGC-74 for myself someday. It would be great for HAM radio RTTY. I'd like to have the Model A, since that's what I used in the military, but the Model B or C would probably be easier to repair. The TT-98 was primarily a conventional electrical typewriter in its design.
I think you are right. But I just looked at my data plate and it's a AN/UGC-74A (V) 3. So maybe it's the "version 3? I know a couple have shown up on e-bay (very pricy) and fair radio sales has some but I don't know which method they use for printing.
I have a teletype UGC 74 and a modem MD 522A but I don’t know who I can connect together, I don’t know what is DC LOOP.... someone can help me please? I need a block squematic to I can connect thanks you from Spain :)
I would recommend downloading the manuals. I'm not at home to give you the manual numbers but they are all available for free. Use a good search and you will find them. If not ask again and I'll see if I can give you an web address. You may also need manuals for the an/grc-142 to understand how all the pieces are wired together. Good luck
wolfkin73 thanks for your answer. I am restoring a old shelter GRC 122 I know all equipments of the station but I need know how connect the teletype and the modem. I need know which connector the modem “DC LOOP N1 or N2”?? And the squematic of this cable to the teletype, the connector words for example “JGH...” I don’t know if you understand me, in resume I need built the cable because I haven’t the original data cable between modem and teletype. I hope you can help me. Thanks
radionerds.com/index.php/AN~GRC-122 look in the back of TM 11-5815-334-20 thats were all the pinouts for the cables are. Connectors should be one of those manuals also.
wolfkin73 thanks you I have found it. I haven’t the control boxes between modem and teletype so I ask you. It is posible connect the teletype directly to modem? I think need to connect the data connector to loop 1 and loop 2. Thanks so much.
Yes. Connect the modem and teletype directly together. The control boxes allow an encryption box to be added or removed. But the modem has the loop current the teletype requires. The control box is simply a plug box.
no KW7?? no stupid bent-block, pos crypto-anchor?? No KG84 either unless you knew better than to film them....that still stirred some memories....than ks for posting...Blaine, C&E/CMDSA
It's my understanding that the Russians copied the kw7 way back. I'm not sure what the legalities are if I found one of theirs. I do occasionally have to source overseas parts as sometimes they are "unavailable" here.
@@wolfkin73 KW-7s were captured with the USS Pueblo and shared amongst the intelligence services of all the communist nations, but there was only so far they could go without keying material. Later on, the Walker Spy Ring supplied the Soviets with keying material from outdated/ past cryptoperiods - but since the Soviets routinely taped all the cipher traffic, they were able to use the captured KW-7s and match up the cryptoperiod of the keying material to the dates of the older recorded transmissions and decode them. I've never seen a KW-7 for sale in any condition, but very demilled KG-84s show up from time-to-time which are little more than empty cases. Ebay has had a few of them over the last five-six years.
I lived in one of those on and off for 4 years in the 70’s. Good memories. Thanks
31C .... the football...awesome memories right there. 1991
My goodness! I used to live in one of those in the jungle in Panama. Finally gave up on TTY as it never worked and switched to voice. Who remembers falling asleep and letting the generators run out of fuel? How about keyboard forehead? I remember having a crowd around me inside, listening to the start of Desert Storm on VOA. Also, the print head on your 74 freaked me out being so quiet. Taught myself CW using the leg clamp thingy and listening to hams in the US. Good times!
You mean, falling asleep in the winter, the heater and all of the lights going out after the generator ran out of fuel?
Waking up to a cold, dark shelter with condensation running down the walls and the door?
And you couldn't get me on the radio from 0200 until around 0700?
No, I don't recall that...
Must have been sun spots or something...
ZKJ2
Wow, that sound. After 5 seconds of hearing it, it took me back 30 years.
31C or 05B???
Trained on these as a 31V at Ft Sill back in 1985. We had still TT-76/98 set ups as late as 1988. Dont recall seeing the UGC-74 until later. Thanks for the memories.
Former 31C here (USAR '85-'88). Brought back memories. :) Thanks for sharing!
I ran ratt equipment very similar to that in Frankfurt in the 70’s. My hearing is shot too. 123rd sig bn, 3ad support. We were the net control. Pulled a pair of 5kw generators behind a 5/4 Jeep fitted with a 200A alternator for mobile operations. Good times.
Oh my god, its been over 30 years since I've heard that sound. I was just coming into the Army when they began deploying UGC-74's at the time It was still tt-98's. Use to be able to read the ticker tape without the print.
Wow! The sound slammed me home :) - 05C/31C/31R/31W (80 - 98) - spent over half my career, 11 years, in Germany. This was awesome and many thanks for sharing!
jnaroby Me too. 05C/31C/31V and 31W from 1976 to mid 85, before the Recruiting Command beckoned. 2 tours in Germany and 2 tours at Fort Polk. I just missed out on the UGC-74's.
PaBasser when were you at Polk? I was there from 93 until I helped move the 208th Signal Company to Ft. Bliss, TX as the Forward 1SG. Retired at Bliss.
jnaroby First tour was April 1979 to Jan 1981. HHC 7th Engineer Bn. 2nd go round was January 84 to May 85, B Co. 5th Signal Bn. Section Chief and then a Plat Daddy as an E-6. CO relieved my predecessor in the middle of a FTX. He told me to get in his CUCV as I was now the new Platoon Sergeant. Grabbed my gear and off I went. I was training some Louisiana NG troops at a different locale, at the time.
Love the video. This really brought back some memories. I was a 31C stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany 86'-91'.
+DarkFoxMedia As soon as the ticker tape started, I could smell the oil... Wow! I was a 31C at Flak Kaserne, Ludwigburg back 85 - 87 and then Fort Stewart.
I was A co 1st Sig Bn in Kaiserslautern 86'-90. These sounds bring back memories of 12 hours shifts in those rigs.
Very cool, I was in Bitburg, Germany 87'-89' 32 adcom assigned to a Hawk Missile maintenance company. Glory days lol
Thanks for posting! Brings me back to my 31Charlie days back in Germany in the late 80's. I use to frequency surf and talk to Nova Scotia and one night picked up a guy from my home town in California. Would love to sit in one and see what I remember.
I need to get it up and running again. I have taken it to some shows so guys like you can see and touch it. I learn from you. Thanks
After 12 years of working in those riggs, I'm still hearing ringing in my ears. VA said it was normal - go figure...INT ZBK... This bring back a lot of good memories though, thanks for sharing.
INT ZBK, K
My ears ring non-stop. VA gave me a hard time for disability.
@@weepeeteeee What percentage did you get. They didnt even give me a rating for my ringing.
@@kingofbattle6781 10% for ringing and 10% for vertigo max they said. BTW sorry to hear you got no disability or limited disability like we always do. I am legally deaf. No Soldier should ever be given a hard time for anything while serving our country. If I ever decide to done (end) my life It will be at the VA's office. So Mote It Be.
INT ZBZ
Wow. That brings back memories from when I was a signal platoon leader in the US Army in the 1980's. We used AN/GRC-122 and AN/GRC-142 affectionately known as "Ratt Rigs". Looks like this is a complete system minus the TSEC/KW-7 crypto. We also had UGC-74's in a Comm Center Shelter that could generate a message and put it on paper tape and send it to the Ratt Rig to be transmitted, or the Ratt Rig could receive the traffic and generate a paper tape that went to the Comm Center to be delivered. The Comm Center could deliver the traffic via courier or send the traffic over the AN/TRC-145 tactical multi-channel (UHF Band I and Band III) network to other Comm Centers within the Division/Corps network. The troops who did this work knew the secret to getting some sleep was to slightly unscrew the P&I warning lamp on the front of the KW-7 which made it fail; they could get a few hours of sleep waiting for COMSEC maintenance troops to show up to fix it.
Thanks for commenting. I love hearing from the people who used these. The manuals can only tell so much.
I was with 9th Signal in Ft. Lewis from 1986-1989. I worked an experimental Harris Radio satellite system called TC3V and fell under the TAC-CP. We had UGC-74's, URC 101's, Harris low to high repeaters and even a fax machine!
We did not have the luxury of sleeping on duty or the equipment going down. I was also a Corporal that didn't stand for any of that gold-bricking nonsense. This big husky guy with a funny sounding German name would have gone ballistic if "his" comms were down. I guess some people just had it like that...
The AN/GRC-142 in the 1980s:) I was in a reserve unit in the states that were using them in the late 1970s... but not with KW-7 crypto. Seems awful old for your time period. We mainly used the older AN/GRC-46 in Vietnam, but with newer crypto. The -26, if I remember correctly. I only saw a KW-7 once, and that was used with a jeep radio. Some guys brought in a radio for maintenance and had managed to hook up the KW-7 wrong. I don't know how they did it, but where there's a will, there's a way. Just the opposite of your guys rigging the warning lamp:) We did use a 106A for our MARS station which was fun, because we had to monitor the voice communications and key the shop radio to stop the communication if they talked about our work. My group built a brand new AN/GRC-46 in Vietnam for the Canadian UN Peacekeepers, complete with an brand new 1/2 ton 1950s vintage truck from the depot in Okinawa. They were to use it as a relay point between Hanoi and MACV headquarters in Saigon.
@@3366larryandrews AN/GRC-122 and AN/GRC-142 were the standard HF RTTY systems in the Army in the mid/late 1980's. Before that, early 80's we had the GRC-26D which was Korea/Vietnam era equipment; I think we were also using it with the KW-7 crypto to be compatible with all Army HF nets. I had never used or even seen a GRC-46 ratt rig. The KW-7 was too big (maybe 14"x14"x14") to fit in a jeep and I don't think it worked with the VRC-12 family FM radios; I think it was only for HF. I recall the KY-38 Nestor crypto used with the VRC-12 family, PRC-25 and PRC-77. We later moved to KY-57 Vinson crypto for both VRC-12 and PRC-77.
@@brianattaway2474 Thanks for the response. Interesting about the AN/GRC-142 being used into the late 1980s. It seems that there were comm centers that had more advanced printer capabilities than the old 60-word per minute GRC-26D, the GRC-46, and the GRC-142. The main difference, from my perspective, seems to be their power output, even though their use in the field were different. When I left the Army, I notice other products, like the ASR-33, that had a much better performance, but I wasn't surprised to see the GRC-142 in the reserves. The GRC-46 used all the same TTYs as the -142, just with the older R/T that were all tube based. I liked the GRC-46 because it was not only a great radio, but it was easier to troubleshoot in the field. The GRC-142 required a "simulator" piece of equipment that I would troubleshoot the transistor modules with. I trained on the -106A in school, but was still pretty new in the field. I also trained on the GRC-26D, for about 3 hours:) They told me I would never see them in the field due to their age and use. I spent quality time with them, with many times removing the power supply drawer with 2 men an a boy. That drawer was heavy:) I saw the GRC26D in a signal battalion at Ft. Hood, mixed in with the GRC-46. I had 2 GRC-26D shelters I had to cannibalize because the parts were hard to get. I could only order parts from the Air Force and they took forever to get to me. But I loved the performance of the GRC-26D and the fact that it was mounted on a 2 1/2 ton truck that had lots of room in it when we were in the field:) I was a radio repairman, so I could be getting my KW and KY designator mixed up. It could have been a KY-7 that I saw and not a KW-7. I was able to find a photo of the KW-7 on the internet and realized that that was the unit we used in the teletype rigs. The KW-26 may have been the units that were a part of the MACV installation in Vietnam and I got them mixed. My only experience with the KW-7 was learning to code it in school. That's it. If there was an issue in the field, it was pretty easy to isolate the fault of either the radio or the crypto. They always kept the crypto veiled. Crypto and Radio personnel didn't share the same shop, but we did share the same housing. A few times in the field, crypto would say it was the radio at fault, so I had to drag myself out of bed, find them, and then keep them company:) It was a good thing we were friends:) I never really saw crypto for the VRC-12, PRC25/77. I know that it existed, but I never trained for it or saw it. This one instance of the KY-7 (or whatever it was) and the RT524 was unique. It could have been a KY-38, but I seem to remember it was grey. I remember it because the user had managed to connect 2-male plugs together and the configuration confused me for a minute:) This KY-7 was not small, like a PRC-77, but about 1/2 the size of the RT524 and taller. It probably was a KY-38. I seem to remember thinking about the age of the unit, working it in school, and never seeing it in the field before. I'm blaming old age:) That's my story and I'm sticking to it:)
Wow, memories I was a 31C for 17yrs
OH MY GOODNESS, Flash back city! LOVE IT! 25th Inf HHB Divarty , 1976-79, 59th Ord BDE, Primasens GY, 80's. Good ole Ratt Rigs.....
Glad you liked. I've taken a break from working on it but comments from guys like you keep me motivated to keep it going.
Brothers and sisters, you ain’t lived unless you operated a AN/VSC-2 RATT rig in a hardtop jeep towing your Jeep trailer with two 3k generators running NCS !
Talk to me when you get air lifted by a Chinook onto the top of some freaking Korean mountain in the middle of winter with a case of MRE's and 20 gallons of water. Oh, and the fat platoon daddy's last words, "We'll see you in a couple of weeks!"
wow I used the 142 in the 70's with tt98's. we were getting 147's at the time and they were more roomy and better air conditioners. also the antenna matching was much improved. I was in Frankfurt and was the net control for 3rd armored division.
Air conditioners? WTF were those?
05C here, 32nd signal battalion, attached to the 11th ACR in Fulda, 1981-83. Similar Ratt rig, but not quite the same as what we used back then. And no KW7's? Had they been phased out by this time?
Kw7s are still restricted by NSA. So the parts that get out are outrageously expensive or copys. I don't like fake or non-working things. So not anytime soon.
The 2 RATT shacks I was responsible for had the TT-98s in them. I never got to play with the TT-76. they were both retired as is. still love to have one
I served as 05C/31C from 1983-1993, B co 303rd MI Bn, 269th Sig Co, B co 502nd MI Bn, E co 51st INF LRS, then changed to 11B (did not want to PCS to White House Communication), retired in 2013 as a SGM.
05CA1C 31C. 1981/1987 Hanau/ Ft Jackson/ Hanau. I can smell that Rig!
Glad you enjoyed. Thank for commenting.
I was a RATT operator from 84-86 in the 1/32 FA at Fliegerhorst Kaserne Hanau-Erlensee
That's my old shelter, I have obtained the same equipment again, if you still have it we should try it out.
I do still have it. I'm having amp problems and have not fixed it yet. I can still receive. I know several guys are trying to get a net going, so I'll have to get busy on it.
Rich Laird
Enjoyed video. From 1978-'81, this O5C (non-Morse) operated an M561(Gama Goat)-mounted AN/GRC-142B RATT w/PU-620
while stationed at Wiesbaden Air Base, W. Germany, with the 4th ID's 2/20th FA & 64th Spt. Bn. I still shudder when I think about those FTXs, in the dead of winter, at Hohenfels, Grafenwoehr, etc.--Burrr! Spent last active duty months at now-defunct Ft. Devens, MA, on Dodge M880-mounted AN/GRC-122 RATT in 39th Engr. Bn. While stationed at King Khalid Military City with
Boston-based 803rd Med. Gp., USAR during Desert Storm, would do signal strength requests from all over the globe on our commo section's AN/GRC-106 w/15-ft. whip antenna. Retired after 20-years of faithful active/guard/reserve service in 2004.
Richard Laird . I worked the world for over a year using the whip. Put up a dipole recently and it does help. But it's still amazing to talk to the other side of the world on a whip.
Hello Richard, I was stationed with the 2/20th FA in 80-82 . I was a 05C worked in Comsec. Our First Sergeant was Felix Acosta.
Hi Victor Johnson: Before my intra-post transfer to the 64th Spt. Bn. in late spring 1980, I was the Bn. Comsec clerk for the Bn.'s Signal Officer, LT Waugh; don't recall the name of HHC's 1st SG at that time; SSG Volz was my section SG, though. Spent last active duty months manning my Bn.'s signal section's sole RATT RIG for Fort Devens' 39th Cbt Engr Bn. Remaining active guard/reserve time: G-3, 26th (Yankee) ID, ARNG, Boston; 283rd TC, USAR, Boston; 803rd Medical Group, USAR, Boston; 743rd TC, USAR, Boston; 928th TC Det., USAR, NYC; 719th TC Bn., Boston.....Best to you, Victor.
I missed the good old TT-98.
What, no KW-7's? Retired from the Army in 1998 after 26-years in the Signal Corps and in INSCOM.
I figure I'll find a Russian clone one of these days, but since most hams can't seem to decode 850hz rtty I'm already encrypted.
The keyboard looks way different. The modems we had included 425hz shift. We used the KW-7 box for encryption. I didn't see the tuner in the video. Fort Hood 522nd ASA Bn, then changed to 522nd CEWI Bn from 8/75 to 3/78. One guy forgot to ground the rig and had a surprise when he relieved himself standing on the rig. The TTY machines were limited to 60wpm.
Thanks for your service. I'm not sure if using encryption puts a limit on the speed but the ugc-74 can run at 45.5, 50, 75, 150, 300, 600, and 1200 bauds, baudot or ascII. So it can run much faster than this but this is standard HAM radio so it was at 60wpm. The tape reader has 2 sets of gears so it really only does 2 speeds. Though it can be adjusted a little for motor speed so 2.5 in reality.
KW-7???
I was told I could never tell anyone about that...
@@bawbjusbawb6471 I forgot the name and found a page talking all about it.
I almost started WW III with one of these rigs.
Can two UGC-74's be connected together on a land line and communicate back and forth? or do they need additional equipment? I do not wish to sue them on the radio, just as a communication device between two points with telegraph wire.
Yes, you will need a supply to provide 60 ma to the local loop. Just hook up the keyboards and printer circuits in series. Look for an old copy of the ARRL handbook for details.
I love it! 05C/31C Bravo Company 11th AD Signal Battalion, Wurzburg Germany 82 thru 87. HHB III Corps Artillery, Ft Sill Oklahoma 88-89
Thanks for your service. Thanks for commenting.
31C 1984 - 1988 Gunzberg Germany
One of those and a FADAC in my tracks while in the Fulda Gap.
My unit had the first FADAC at Ft. Sill (approx. 1978 or 1979). I was looking on Google for one to show the guys I work with now (youngsters). The only place I could find one was in a museum (honest).
No KW-7?
Tuned and loaded this beast a few times. Oh! Dont forget to send a MIJI report. GARRYOWEN!!
Thanks. I need to upload some new video but still glad you enjoyed.
I sent our TOC a MIJI report in 2006 while deployed in Afghanistan. They didn't know what to do with it... 🤷
I used the same setup when I was in the Army as a 31C.
One question, though... I thought the AN/UGC-74 used a rolling platen and a series of "hammers" to produce a printed page. Is the dot-matrix printhead a later modification, or "aftermarket replacement?"
After further research, I believe there were TWO UGC-74 models. I still recall a large cylindrical platen with letters rolling vertically as it spun under the paper. I believe that was the Model A version. The Model B/C used the dot matrix printhead. There were no moving printheads on the one I used in 1985-86.
The Model A platen would continuously spin and 80 tiny hammers would fire as the appropriate letter was sensed under the paper. The hammer would strike the ribbon, pressing it against the paper, pressing it against the raised letter stamp as it passed. A line of text would "mysteriously appear" as each line was received.
I would like to pick up a UGC-74 for myself someday. It would be great for HAM radio RTTY. I'd like to have the Model A, since that's what I used in the military, but the Model B or C would probably be easier to repair.
The TT-98 was primarily a conventional electrical typewriter in its design.
I think you are right. But I just looked at my data plate and it's a AN/UGC-74A (V) 3. So maybe it's the "version 3? I know a couple have shown up on e-bay (very pricy) and fair radio sales has some but I don't know which method they use for printing.
the needle printer is a later modification.... UGC-74B/C...
the rolling platen with the hammers is 74A...
I have an AN/GRC142C
Awesome. Mine is out of service currently. I hope to get it back in service. Perhaps we can get a rtty net running.
31c in Germany 1986-1987 fun with full crypto
I have a teletype UGC 74 and a modem MD 522A but I don’t know who I can connect together, I don’t know what is DC LOOP.... someone can help me please? I need a block squematic to I can connect thanks you from Spain :)
I would recommend downloading the manuals. I'm not at home to give you the manual numbers but they are all available for free. Use a good search and you will find them. If not ask again and I'll see if I can give you an web address. You may also need manuals for the an/grc-142 to understand how all the pieces are wired together. Good luck
wolfkin73 thanks for your answer. I am restoring a old shelter GRC 122 I know all equipments of the station but I need know how connect the teletype and the modem. I need know which connector the modem “DC LOOP N1 or N2”?? And the squematic of this cable to the teletype, the connector words for example “JGH...” I don’t know if you understand me, in resume I need built the cable because I haven’t the original data cable between modem and teletype. I hope you can help me. Thanks
radionerds.com/index.php/AN~GRC-122 look in the back of TM 11-5815-334-20 thats were all the pinouts for the cables are. Connectors should be one of those manuals also.
wolfkin73 thanks you I have found it. I haven’t the control boxes between modem and teletype so I ask you. It is posible connect the teletype directly to modem? I think need to connect the data connector to loop 1 and loop 2. Thanks so much.
Yes. Connect the modem and teletype directly together. The control boxes allow an encryption box to be added or removed. But the modem has the loop current the teletype requires. The control box is simply a plug box.
no KW7?? no stupid bent-block, pos crypto-anchor?? No KG84 either unless you knew better than to film them....that still stirred some memories....than ks for posting...Blaine, C&E/CMDSA
It's my understanding that the Russians copied the kw7 way back. I'm not sure what the legalities are if I found one of theirs. I do occasionally have to source overseas parts as sometimes they are "unavailable" here.
@@wolfkin73 KW-7s were captured with the USS Pueblo and shared amongst the intelligence services of all the communist nations, but there was only so far they could go without keying material. Later on, the Walker Spy Ring supplied the Soviets with keying material from outdated/ past cryptoperiods - but since the Soviets routinely taped all the cipher traffic, they were able to use the captured KW-7s and match up the cryptoperiod of the keying material to the dates of the older recorded transmissions and decode them.
I've never seen a KW-7 for sale in any condition, but very demilled KG-84s show up from time-to-time which are little more than empty cases. Ebay has had a few of them over the last five-six years.
Hi. I believe that I replaced you in the comsec room. I remember SSG Volz
On her wedding day the bells went (ding ding ding) all night long the bed went (caps caps caps) tt98 memories berlin brigade 86 to 91 31c
brodie? ever stationed at ord? 127 sig?
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